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Geoscience Impacts Nearly Every Aspect of Our Lives

From sustainable energy and climate change, to earthquakes, volcanoes, rivers and glaciers, from the origin of life on Earth to the potential for life on other planets, we lead in educating and inspiring the next generation of scientists.

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Degrees and Programs

The Department of Earth and Space Sciences offers an expansive educational experience. We provide a rigorous interdisciplinary program in which students develop an understanding of the fundamentals of Earth, space, and planetary sciences, and learn relevant skills for a variety of careers.

Research in Earth and Space Sciences

The Earth and space sciences — geology, geophysics, geobiology and geochemistry — play a critical and unique role in the advancement of knowledge, improvement of the quality of life, and in understanding humanity’s place in the universe. Research in Earth and space sciences draws on methods and theory from chemistry, physics, biology and computational sciences.

Faculty in our department are concerned both with fundamental research and with the dissemination of Earth-science knowledge in the service of society.

Limited resources, geologic hazards, and related environmental change are among the most serious challenges we face.  We use our expertise to provide the training and education required to address these challenges, and we are engaged in serious efforts to include a more diverse community of scientists, students and stakeholders than in the past.

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News

| In the News

These frozen moons are not dead

Moons get no respect. People think of them as dead and cold, often overshadowed (literally) by the superstar planets they orbit around. But planetary scientist Baptiste Journaux would disagree. He’s fascinated by moons and the growing research that has shown that moons are far more active than we used to think. In fact, they contain heat and ice and essential components needed for life. Pocket Science host Gabriel Spitzer talks with Journaux about the latest discoveries of frozen planets and the upcoming NASA mission to explore Titan, the moon orbiting Saturn.

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| Student Spotlight

Highlights from the 2026 ESS Research Symposium and Gala

The UW Department of Earth & Space Sciences Research Symposium and Gala is an annual graduate student-organized event that brings together students, faculty, alumni and supporters to celebrate our students’ groundbreaking work. This year’s Gala, held during the first week of Spring Quarter, showcased over 30 student presentations, 17 posters, a department-wide photo contest and an awards reception.

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Events

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